Luzerne County’s Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Faces Legal Challenge
The future of Luzerne County’s anti-discrimination ordinance remains uncertain as legal challenges delay further action. The county council initially planned to revisit the ordinance in a meeting this week. However, a pending challenge against a petition that demands a vote on the ordinance has postponed any decisions.
“We have to wait until all the challenges are complete to vote on reconsideration,” stated Council Chair Jimmy Sabatino.
A group known as Action Together NEPA, along with seven residents from Luzerne County, has requested that the Luzerne County Board of Elections scrutinize 8,917 of the 15,405 signatures collected on the petition. This petition was organized by former Luzerne County Controller Walter Griffith and his committee.
In a recent meeting, the county’s board of elections decided not to evaluate the challenge, as Assistant Solicitor Gene Molino explained that the issue is “out of the board’s control at this point.”
Following this decision, Attorney Sarah Borland from Borland & Borland filed an appeal with the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. This appeal seeks judicial intervention to review the board’s inaction. The argument presented hinges on the county’s home rule charter, which mandates that petitions for referendums are treated equivalently to nomination petitions per the state’s election code.
The county’s non-discrimination ordinance, which was passed in June by a 7-4 vote, extends protections against discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, and public services. These protections cover categories not typically included under state and federal law, such as gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, veteran status, and disabilities.
Griffith spearheaded a movement to either repeal the ordinance or submit it for a county-wide vote, a process sanctioned by the county’s home rule charter. The charter required the petitioners to gather at least 11,615 signatures, equating to 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election.
The petition amassed over 15,000 signatures, as verified on Aug. 10 by the clerk of county council. This submission set a 30-day countdown for the Luzerne County Council to decide on repealing the ordinance. Without council action, the ordinance would appear on the ballot for the 2027 primary election as a referendum.
Currently, the process is on hold as Action Together NEPA’s challenge remains unresolved. “There is nothing for us to do until the challenges are done,” reiterated Sabatino.
